In a light week for American Athletic Conference games, with just four scheduled (three in-conference), only UCF and Houston played in a game that could be considered remotely entertaining for the neutral fan. On a Thursday night, UCF beat the Cougars in the only way they seem to be able to—in the waning minutes.
East Carolina took a step forward as the favorite to win the conference, stomping over hapless SMU despite not playing its “A”-game.
Cincinnati was roundly considered to be the biggest contenders to the Pirates for the league title, but was getting stomped by Memphis way before quarterback Gunner Kiel was knocked out of the game.
As for Tulsa, well, many pundits expected the Golden Hurricane to struggle in their first season in the AAC, and after a nice win over Tulane in Week 1, they look to be intent on proving the naysayers right.
Game of the Week: Central Florida at Houston
The facts don’t lie—UCF owns the Cougars, having only lost once in six total contests. But the margin for victory for the Knights in those five wins has never been greater than seven points, so sooner or later, it makes sense that Houston breakthrough and take home the win. It didn’t happen to be this year, but they couldn’t have come any closer.
After combining for 20 wins last season, both teams have been disappointing so far in 2014. Houston was careful with the ball, but forced turnovers galore, while the Knights were just great in 2013. Both teams have combined for four wins, with tough losses on both schedules. But now they were in familiar territory.
The teams swapped punts early, but a fumble by UCF’s Jackie Williams set up Houston in good field position. An 18-yard run by Ryan Jackson helped pave the way for Kyle Bullard’s 39-yard field goal, and the Cougars were on the board.
Another nice drive, including a 22-yard run by Kenneth Farrow and John O’Korn’s 36-yard pass to Greg Ward Jr. set up Houston on the Knights’ 1-yard line, but three consecutive plays (two passes and a run) were denied, and the Cougars turned the ball over on downs.
UCF couldn’t get past the 5-yard line, but a holding penalty bogged down Houston’s return drive, and outstanding field position was wasted. Both teams continued to practice their punting, but a Clayton Geathers interception of O’Korn gave UCF its first big opportunity at the Cougar 25. They didn’t take long to take advantage, as some solid running by William Stanback set up Justin Holman’s touchdown pass to Jackie Williams.
O’Korn made some amends with a nice drive midway through the second quarter, moving the ball nicely through the air to the Knights 25, but an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-3 saw Bullard trot onto the field again to convert a 42-yard kick. The Knights chose to run out the last two minutes, preserving their hard fought 7-6 lead.
Houston nearly made a huge blunder at the start of the second half, when Ward fumbled UCF’s put, but Houston luckily recovered it. The drive went nowhere as O’Korn failed to connect with Ward and 3rd-and-2, and Holman made them pay by throwing a high pass to Breshad Perriman, who leapt for the catch, then shrugged off the cornerback’s attempted tackle, and outran the Houston secondary to the endzone for a 52-yard score.
O’Korn was intercepted by Brandon Alexander at the Cougar 33 on the ensuing drive, and Shawn Moffitt connected on a 42-yard field goal to extend the Central Florida’s lead to 17-6.
The defenses took control again after the brief flurry of offensive activity, but a huge facemask penalty on 3rd-and-20 gave Houston another shot, and they put some more points on the board when Bullard booted a 51-yard kick.
Ward Jr., who had split time with O’Korn up until now, was taking all of Houston’s snaps, and getting more comfortable as the game went on. A 39-yard pass to Demarcus Ayers, but a penalty and a sack forced Houston out of the redzone, and Bullard was called on for the fourth time, making the kick from 49 yards.
UCF did nothing with ball on their next drive, setting up the Cougars with one last shot. Ward had been growing in confidence as he gained more time, and it really showed on this drive, as he threw some nice passes to move the chains. A big pass interference penalty against UCF got the Cougars into easy striking distance, but they made a gaffe of their own as a holding penalty pushed them back a couple of plays later, giving them first and goal at the 20.
Ward dropped back to pass, but the protection broke down, forcing him to scramble. He noticed a gap downfield, and took off, making it down to goal line, where he dove over, stretching the ball out. But UCF safety Brandon Alexander arrived at the same time, jarring the ball loose, and it subsequently rolled out of the endzone, giving possession—and the win—to the Knights.
Offensive Player of the Week: Paxton Lynch, Memphis
East Carolina fans will no doubt opine that Shane Carden deserves to be here this week, but Cincinnati’s defense is arguably stronger than SMU’s, despite recent evidence to the contrary. Memphis has looked pretty good recently, despite being completely shut down by Ole Miss last week.
Cincinnati was run over by Ohio State, but its offense has looked good so far behind Gunner Kiel. The Tigers brought their “A”-game, shutting down the Bearcats’ running game, and continuously harassing Kiel. Kiel’s receivers certainly didn’t help, either, dropping drive-killing passes.
But enough about Cincy, the real story of the day was Lynch, who completed 18-of-25 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, and added 45 yards and two scores on 12 carries. The Bearcats had no answer for Lynch as Memphis dominated Cincinnati, 41-14.
Defensive Player of the Week: Brandon Alexander and Jaryl Mamea, UCF
It’s hard to separate these two, as both played significant roles in the win over Houston. Alexander is the obvious choice, picking off a pass to set up a field goal and forcing the game-saving fumble. He also pitched in with nine tackles (.5 for loss), and broke up a pass.
While Alexander gets the credit for his heroics, Mamea was just as valuable, hounding Houston’s quarterbacks all day long. Among his four tackles, Mamea had three sacks, all of which essentially ended drives, including two that forced field goals instead of touchdown. He was also credited with four quarterback pressures in a dominating performance.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Kyle Bullard, Houston
The Houston offense really struggled against Central Florida’s speedy defense, but Bullard was rock solid, providing points on all four of the opportunities presented to him. Bullard converted from 39, 42, 51, and 49 yards as the offense regularly bogged down in enemy territory. The junior has yet to miss a field goal in his career (18 attempts), and unless the Cougar offense wakes up, he’ll be called on a lot more this season.
Team of the Week: Memphis
Cincinnati took a pounding the week before, but it was expected to be back to form against the Tigers, who are improving, but not quite where they want to be. Or are they?
Memphis certainly sent a message to the AAC that it is a force to be reckoned with, beating the Bearcats to a pulp in every phase of the game. Memphis racked up 610 yards, holding position for 40:55, and also holding Cincinnati to 352 yards, 80 of which came on the first play of the game.
This is an impressive road win that could set the stage for a big season.
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